Secret Admirer
by Higuchimon and LadyDragon
Summary: Taichi's getting cookies, and he has no idea who they're from. [Taichi x Yamato]


_**Legal Disclaimer:** Digimon is owned by Toei and Disney. Neither of us are neither of them, so therefore, we do not own Digimon.  
**Title:** Secret Admirer  
**Pairing:** Taichi/Yamato, with some Ken/Daisuke.  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Timeline: **This starts around Christmas of 2003, a year after the Christmas seen on the show. The 2027 epilogue is merrily ignored._

Snow was falling thickly outside of the Yagami window, and Taichi stared at it with annoyance, then sneezed miserably. "Stupid snow. Even stupider cold."

"This'll make you feel better, Taichi." Agumon came up with a cup of tea and handed it over to him with a bright, cheery gleam to his green eyes. The gleam very nearly faded as Taichi sneezed all over his partner wetly.

"I'm sorry, buddy," Taichi apologized, looking at his partner miserably. "I _hate_ being sick."

Agumon grinned, an exercise that showed quite a few teeth. "It's okay, Taichi, it's not your fault!"

Taichi groaned and fell back weakly against the couch. "Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ cold!!"

His partner tilted his head slightly to the side. "Why don't you invite someone over? Like Yamato. I bet he'd come!"

"Because he's with his family like everyone else is, and I don't want to get him sick." Taichi pouted. He would've _liked_ to have spent some time with Yamato, but not at the expense of the blonde's health. "Everyone's with their own families but me. You're the only one who loves me, Agumon."

Agumon looked a bit confused. "Your parents and Hikari and Tailmon love you." Even after all this time, humans were _so_ confusing, especially when they were sick.

"Then why'd they leave?" Taichi muttered moodily, then curled up under his blankets, shivering feverishly.

"They had to go visit your grandma and they didn't want the cold to spread." Agumon reminded him. The only reason they'd left Taichi behind was because Agumon himself had promised to take very good care of his partner and not let him die or blow the apartment up.

The brunette pouted. "I know! Doesn't mean I have to _like_ it!" He curled up even tighter, tugging the blanket closer to him. "Why'd you stay, Agumon? Won't I get you sick, too?"

"We're partners." Agumon shrugged as if this didn't even need to be mentioned. Which it didn't, to him. "We should do everything together."

Taichi's eyes widened. "You can really catch my cold?"

"I dunno." Agumon had never been sick before. The only time that he'd come close was when he'd been near Gabumon when _he_ was sick, back when they'd been fighting Devimon. _I wish we had some of those herbs that Frigimon gave him. I bet that would fix Taichi right up!_

"Maybe you should go back," Taichi offered worriedly, eyeing his small partner. "I don't want you to get sick."

Agumon shook his head at once, overriding Taichi's half-hearted protests. "Nope! You're my partner! I'm not going anywhere while you need me!" He brought Taichi some tissues as his partner sneezed wetly several times, the couch shaking with how hard he was sneezing.

"Thanks, buddy." Taichi had never been more grateful to be a Chosen Child. If it wasn't for Agumon, he'd be putting up with his _mom's_ nursing, and that could be scary at times. She was pretty good at it, for someone who wasn't trained, but she tended to be ...mothering.

He sipped at the tea cup that Agumon had brought him a little, then sneezed messily all over it. Agumon winced a bit, then reached for it. "I'll change that for you."

Taichi nodded miserably. "Thanks." He wasn't all that sure he wanted to drink any more of it right now anyway. He'd been amazed by how handy Agumon could be in the kitchen, especially by how _good_ the dinosaur Digimon was at making tea.

As Agumon took the cup away, a knock sounded at the door. Taichi groaned. _Who could be coming over **now**?_ He stood up dizzily and stumbled to the door. "Just a minute, please!!" He opened the door and blinked blearily, seeing no one there. He sniffed, and an aroma of something _delicious_ made it's way into his stuffed nostrils. He looked down to see a plate of homemade cookies sitting there, a note to one side. Taichi gripped the blanket closer to himself and looked around again, once more seeing nothing, then crouched down to pick everything up.

As the cookies got closer to his nose, and he got a better hint of just how good they smelled, his eyes lit up. _They're even my favorite kind! Chocolate chip with walnuts!!_ He held the plate protectively to his chest as he turned to head inside, then glanced back at the faint sound of footsteps running, that faded in a heartbeat. _Weird._

He closed the door and shoved a cookie into his mouth, then opened the note, expecting it to be a surprise gift from one of his friends or something. He was ready to temporarily ignore the fact of what homemade cookies really meant. That was the kind of thing that one did in person, after all.

However, the note brought reality crashing back into him. In a clear, vaguely familiar handwriting, it said, _For the one I love._

Taichi almost choked on his cookie.

"Where'd you get that, Taichi?" Agumon paused in the doorway to the kitchen and stared at the plate that Taichi was holding.

His partner looked up at him. "Someone left it on my doormat with this." He showed Agumon the note, who blinked, then looked at him.

"You've got a secret admirer?"

Taichi blushed. "I guess so." That was kinda cute in a way. Someone liked him...someone shy, he guessed.

Agumon giggled a little at the look on his partner's face, then did his best to look as appealing as Tailmon could when she wanted something. "Those cookies smell good."

Taichi hesitated for a moment, then offered Agumon one. As his partner gobbled it down, the brunette examined the plate and cookies carefully. The plate was an undecorated one, no patterns or anything, and he knew at least a half a dozen people who had ones just like it. "I wonder who it could be."

"Whoever it is, they can _cook_!" Agumon declared. Taichi nodded in agreement, then hurriedly put the plate down and sneezed away from it.

"I don't want to contaminate the cookies," Taichi blushed, and Agumon snickered at him. "Just for that, you can't have any more."

Agumon protested, then hurried to get his partner a tissue as Taichi started to sneeze again. The Child of Courage considered faintly. "I wonder who it is."

"Maybe it's Sora?" Agumon considered. Taichi shook his head and made a slight face.

"What, since she and Yamato broke it off, I'm her second helping? I don't think so. No offense to her, but I've known her _forever_. I don't think I could ever kiss her." Sora was his friend, not his girlfriend. Besides, she was dating one of those guys who had been one of Oikawa's Dark Spore kids.

Agumon considered other options. "What if it's Yamato?"

"Nah." Taichi shook his head. "He's got a boyfriend, remember?" Shortly after he and Sora had split up in February, Yamato had announced that he was bisexual, preferring both boys and girls, and in the months since, he'd dated both. His current flavor was Koga Susumu, a brunette with an attitude. They were probably all cuddled up right now.

Agumon named a few more people, and Taichi shook his head on every one. "It had to be _some_one." Agumon declared at last. Taichi sneezed again.

"I go to school with almost a thousand people, Agumon." He reminded his partner. Agumon groaned sadly, then perked up.

"Hey, what if it's a Digimon? Angemon's cute!"

"I guess." Taichi looked at his partner. "You like Angemon/"

Agumon blushed faintly. "A little. I dunno if he'd like _me_, though."

Taichi glowered in indignation. "Why wouldn't he? You're the coolest Digimon _ever_!" The whole protective effect was very ruined since he was sneezing every few words. Agumon blushed, then frowned at him as Taichi kept on sneezing.

"You go sit down. I'll get your cold medicine."

Taichi nodded weakly, and headed for the bed. He did not neglect to take his cookies with him."

* * *

A few days passed, and the rest of the Yagamis came home. The first place Hikari went was to the refrigerator, and the first thing her twelve year old eyes saw was a cookie sitting in lonely splendor on a plate. "Look! Taichi actually left me a cookie!" 

"I didn't know there was anything around to make cookies with." Tailmon commented as her partner ate the cookie. Hikari shrugged and grinned.

"I don't know, but it sure was good!" She checked around for any crumbs; that thing was _delicious_!

"Where's my cookie?" She turned to see her brother standing there, still red-nosed and looking a tad annoyed.

"Thanks for the cookie, Taichi!" She chirped at him. He stared at her even more.

"You _ate_ my cookie??" Taichi growled. That was the last one he'd had and he had been looking forward to it, and she _ate_ it!

"It was good! When did you make them?"

Taichi looked at the little thief and wondered for a brief moment just _why_ they'd saved her from Vamdemon in the first place. "I can't believe you ate it!"

Hikari blinked at him. "Was that wrong?"

"Yes!" He deliberately sneezed all over her, not feeling very big brotherly at the moment. "Don't eat my cookies anymore!"

"EW!" Hikari ran to clean the gook from the sneeze off of herself. "Mom, dad, Taichi sneezed on me!" Sisters. Couldn't keep them. Couldn't feed them to a hungry Digimon. What good were they?

* * *

Taichi glanced around and picked up another note, glad that he was feeling better at last. It was almost the middle of January, and cookies had become a regular delivery: every week, like clockwork, complete with beautiful poetry and notes. 

_To my beautiful Taichi. You'll know who this is soon. I can hardly wait to feel you in my arms, on my lips. You are my sun, my moon, my starlit skies! Without you, everything is dark. I love you._

Taichi blushed softly, then folded it up and carried the plate of cookies inside. Agumon bounced over as soon as he smelled them and grinned. "More cookies?"

"I think I'm going to go talk to Yamato, okay?" He glared fiercely at his partner. "Don't eat more than four and if my imotochan goes near them, bite her hand off!"

Agumon blinked in surprise. "But Tailmon would scratch me!"

"Gonna lose to a pussy cat?" Taichi's eyes twinkled faintly, and Agumon flexed at once.

"Of course not! I'll bite her hand off if she comes within a foot of them!"

Taichi grinned. "Thanks, buddy, I knew I could count on you." He headed out quickly, covering the distance between his apartment and the Ishidas in moments. He noticed Koga, Yamato's still current love interest, chatting with a group of other guys and girls outside the complex, but since Yamato wasn't with them, he gave them barely a glance before going inside, heading right for the apartment.

"Hey, Taichi!" Yamato smiled at him as he opened up the door. Taichi smiled back; Yamato smiled _truly_ at only a very few people. He felt privileged to be one of them.

"Are you busy?" Taichi wondered as he stood there. Yamato shook his head.

"Not really. Come on in."

Taichi slipped in and toed his shoes off, sliding into a pair of guest slippers without even thinking about it. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

He tried not to let his nervousness show as he was guided into the living room and they both sat. Yamato looked at him rather calmly. "So, what's on your mind?"

"Well..." Taichi fidgeted a bit. "Ihaveasecretadmirer." He could see the surprise written all over Yamato's face and looked down quickly. "Whoever it is leaves me cookies every week with letters." He blushed faintly. _He's going to laugh at me. I know he is._ "And I was wondering...Doyouknowwhoitis?"

Yamato blinked briefly, as if he'd never even anticipated that question. "Nope. No one's said anything to me."

Taichi slumped against the door. There went his only option. "Man, you were my last hope. I got another note today." He blushed just thinking about the gushy words.

"What was it like?" Yamato asked, a hint of curiosity in his golden voice. Taichi hesitated for a very long moment, then handed it over to Yamato to look at, not letting go until the very last second. The blonde read it over carefully, and Taichi gave a mocking little laugh.

"Kind of hard to believe that anyone sees me like that, ne?"

Yamato glanced at him with a kind look in his cerulean eyes. "Not really. But whoever it is, they've got it really bad for you."

Taichi blushed even more, though he would have been hard pressed to figure out just what he was blushing _about_, the note or Yamato's offhand comment. "But I don't _know_ who it is!"

"What _do_ you know?" Yamato wondered, and Taichi was certain if he himself was an anime character, his eyes would have went all sparkly and alive just at the thought of what he was going to say next.

"Whoever it is makes the most _amazing_ cookies I've ever eaten!"

Yamato chuckled softly. "Maybe it's Mimi," he suggested. She had been learning more and more cooking skills, after all.

"Maybe." Taichi couldn't bring himself to be very enthusiastic about it, though. He _liked_ Mimi as a friend, but he couldn't see himself dating her.

As a knock came at the door, Yamato groaned. "It's Koga." Taichi noticed he didn't seem to be all that thrilled about that, and wondered why as he started to tug his note back.

"I should be going anyway." He smiled at Yamato. "I'm sure you'd rather spend time with your boyfriend anyway. See you around, Yamato." He opened the door, Yamato right behind him, one graceful hand lingering on Taichi's shoulder.

"Come back soon, Taichi. I like talking to you."

Taichi smiled briefly, nodded a greeting to Koga, then headed on out. Yamato watched him go, the faintest hint of wistfulness visible in his eyes for anyone who cared to see it.

Which Koga didn't. "I've been waiting for you, beautiful. You're twenty minutes late."

"Yes, I know." Yamato's voice held just the thin edge of coolness. "I was talking to Taichi."

Koga looked at him, his dark eyes filling with tears. "You mean, _I'm_ Not the most important person to you?" Yamato gave him a look, and Koga glomped onto him tightly, hugging with all of his strength.

"Koga..." Yamato wished he'd had Gabumon stay over with him tonight. He could've come in _very_ handy right now. "I need to breathe."

Koga kissed him instead, and Yamato had to admit his boyfriend was _very_ good at kissing. Koga grinned at him once he pulled back. "Ready for our seven week anniversary dinner?"

"So where am I taking you this time?" Yamato asked. It was like this every time. He kept _trying_ to tell Koga, but the other just wasn't listening. He winced as his boyfriend rattled off someplace very expensive and extravagant. This was going to cost him a _bundle_.

"And then I have a hotel room waiting for us." Koga nuzzled Yamato's neck and the blonde pulled back at once.

"No." He saw the confusion in Koga's eyes and shook his head. "I said _no_."

Koga sighed and snuggled. "You know I love you, right, beautiful?"

"Yes, yes, I know." Yamato was beginning to be a bit tired of it too.

"Come on!" Koga started to drag him out. "You spend far too long in your stuffy old kitchen!"

Yamato sighed as he went along. He was fairly certain _this_ hadn't been in the manual for being bisexual.

* * *

It was almost Valentine's Day when next Taichi knocked on the Ishida door. He didn't expect to see Yamato opening it up rather disarrayed and disgruntled, though. The brunette blinked at him. "I didn't mean to interrupt, I can go." 

"You didn't interrupt." Yamato told him. "He's gone."

Taichi paused, then shoved his fist out, offering the note that had come with his latest batch of cookies. "I can't bring myself to read this one. Read it to me?"

Yamato glanced down at it as they came inside, then began to read it out loud.

_My dearest Taichi, the time is coming soon when I will tell you who I am. I hope you've enjoyed all of this, I know I have. The thought of the pleasure my cookies give you is nothing compared to the pleasure I feel in making them for you. Making you happy is what makes **me** happy. Soon we'll be together. I can only hope that once you know who I am, you'll still find me as appealing as you do now, when you don't know who I am. Love forever, your secret admirer._

Taichi almost reverently tucked the note into his pocket once Yamato was done, then looked at his friend. "So how are you and your boyfriend doing?"

"He's starting to get on my nerves." Yamato said dryly. Taichi frowned.

"You _look_ like things are going well." He took in Yamato's unbuttoned shirt. It was fairly obvious that there had been a hot and heavy makeout session going on.

Yamato shook his head. "He wants more than I want to give." Taichi looked faintly worried.

"Like what?" If this guy was bothering Yamato, Taichi was intent on giving him a couple of lessons in manners. Painful ones, if that was what it took.

The blonde bit his lip a little. "He wants to go...all the way." He hesitated, seeing the question in Taichi's eyes that the brunette couldn't quite bring himself to ask. "I have no intentions of doing _anything_ beyond kissing until I'm married. I haven't and I won't."

Taichi was surprised. Apparently you could learn new things about your friends even after four years. "Really? Why?"

"I want to know that I love whoever I do it with." Yamato told him seriously. "That it's not just hormones or cheap sex or anything like that. I want to know that it's going to last."

Taichi unconsciously rubbed the pocket with the note in it and smiled slowly in agreement. "Besides, these days, it's just safer." He stood up. "Thanks again for reading that for me, Yamato."

Yamato smiled. "No problem. Hope to see you soon. Maybe come by for a band rehearsal?"

"Maybe." Taichi smiled at him, feeling a nice warm feeling deep inside. _No one_ had ever been invited to a rehearsal before. He felt honored. "I hope things work out for you, Yamato." He flashed the blonde a gloriously open and caring smile, then headed home to his cookies.

* * *

The days flowed by, one into the other, marked by cookie deliveries as they had been before. Taichi counted on them, and it felt _really_ good to have someone care about him, even if he didn't know who they really were. 

It was almost starting to edge into spring, and the air was warm as Taichi left class one day, frowning over one of the latest rumors that he'd heard flying about concerning Yamato. _I wonder why he didn't tell me they were breaking up._

Rumor stated quite clearly that Yamato and Koga had broken up, though just _why_ was a subject of rumor all in itself. One version claimed that Yamato had someone on the side, but Taichi didn't count that. He knew his friend better than that.

He glanced at his watch and noticed that he still had some time left until his cookie delivery. _I think I want a soda. Good thing the ice cream parlor's still open._ He headed that way, imagining a nice frosty Pepsi going down his throat, seated beside his secret admirer. For some reason, in his imagination, his mental image of them had blonde hair.

He was about to think more seriously about that when he heard a familiar smug voice. "Yeah, I got him. He's such a _hot_ little number too. He really knows how to use that mouth, too. You know what they say about musicians."

The crowd just outside the ice cream parlor oohed and ahhed around Koga, and Taichi wandered closer, listening. If this guy was cheating on Yamato...

"But didn't he break up with you?" One girl asked curiously. The dark haired young man waved a hand casually.

"That's just an ugly rumor. Yamato wouldn't break up with the best lover he's ever had. Of course it was so _easy_ to get him in bed. A few trinkets and he opened right up!"

Taichi glared at him. "You're lying!" The other ignored him as he started to go on about how awesome he was. Taichi shoved his way through the crowd and glared at the offender. "Shut up, Koga! Yamato wouldn't stoop to sleeping with you!!"

Koga grinned at him smugly. "How would _you_ know?"

Taichi folded his arms and glared at him. "Because he's my best friend. You've been pushing him to sleep with you when you knew damned good and well that he didn't want to! _That's_ why he broke up with you!"

"What's the matter?" Koga growled softly. "Want him for yourself/"

"I'm not going to let you drag his name through the mud just because he broke up with you!" Taichi declared. Koga's eyes flashed with anger.

"Why would I want a _prude_ like him! He hardly even wanted to kiss me!"

Taichi smirked. "I wonder why, when you have _no_ problems spreading lies about him." Taichi stood his ground as Koga stalked over and unleashed a powerful punch in the stomach, then returned it with a fist to the jaw. Koga stumbled back some, then waved in some of his friends who had been watching and grinning.

The Child of Courage swallowed a bit. _This is where Agumon could come in **really** handy. A few Baby Flames would be useful. Oh, well._ He hadn't been given his Crest because he backed down from a fight, and this was his Yamato's honor at stake.

Five minutes later, when he was being pummeled by four of the great hulking brutes, he wished he'd taken Iori up on his offer of learning how to fight properly, instead of just relying on impulse and impetuous.

"Leave him alone!" A familiar voice crackled, and everyone looked up to see a young twelve year old there, tall and slim and in a gray school uniform.

Koga dismissed this new arrival out of hand. "Keep out of this, rich boy." He recognized the uniform as being from the private school in Tamachi. The kid was probably slumming, especially since that twit Motomiya Daisuke was right behind him.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" Ichijouji Ken grinned faintly. Koga snorted.

"You're some rich boy sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong."

Ken raised one eyebrow. "I'd advise you not to hit my friend again, unless you'd like to know exactly how he's feeling at the moment." Koga rolled his eyes. Pretty rich boys annoyed him. He'd have to teach this one a lesson. He charged over, swinging with all of his might.

Ken caught him by one wrist and threw him to the ground easily, then pinned him there. He didn't _like_ to do this, but sometimes things were necessary. "I said to leave him alone."

Taichi dragged himself to his feet with a groan, sporting a split lip and a huge black shiner. Daisuke came over to him. "Was it worth it?" The younger boy asked casually.

"Hell, yes." Taichi glared at Koga, then looked at Ken. "Thanks, Ken. That jerk has been spreading rumors about Yamato."

Ken nodded as he backed away from Koga. "Get out of here." He didn't _look_ threatening or anything, but Koga and his crew quickly vacated the premises while the rest of the crowd dispersed. Taichi glared after him, absently rubbing a streak of blood away, then checked to make certain the last note he'd gotten was still in his pocket and sighed in relief when it was. He made a habit of keeping the last one with him until he got a new one. It made him feel closer to his secret admirer.

"You need to get cleaned up," Daisuke told him. "Come on, we can go to my place."

Taichi glanced at his watch, and groaned. "I have _less_ than thirty minutes to get home!"

Ken blinked in surprise. "Why? It's the afternoon, your parents know you come by here sometimes, they shouldn't be worried or anything."

"My secret admirer!" Taichi blurted out. "If I don't hurry, Hikari will get my cookies!" Both of them stared at him as he started to brush by, then both chorused,

"_Secret admirer_???"

Taichi blushed as he looked back. "Well, yeah. Remember when I got sick at Christmas time?" There was a dual nod. "I started to get cookies and love letters every week starting then." His eyes went all dreamy for a moment. "The _best_ cookies I've ever had." Those dreamy eyes went narrow briefly. "And if my sister thinks I'm going to share them with her, she's got another think coming!"

Daisuke nodded; he wouldn't have wanted to share Ken's cookies with anyone else either. "So, any ideas on who is sending them?"

"Not a clue."

Ken considered for a moment, processing things, then chuckled. "Who is the best cook you know, Taichi?"

"Yamato. You know that. Why?" Taichi was surprised Ken even asked the question."

"So if they're the best cookies you've ever tasted..." Ken led Taichi gently along the path of logic.

The brunette stared at him blankly for a moment. "I don't..." He blinked as it began to seep into him. "But he had a _boyfriend_ then!"

Daisuke shrugged casually. He could see where Ken was going. "Go find out."

Taichi looked a little nervous, then started running. The second Child of Courage chuckled softly. "This should be good."

"Wanna watch?" Ken asked with an amused gleam to his eyes. Daisuke grinned back at him.

"Try and stop me."

* * *

Taichi forgot his Japanese good manners this once. If Yamato was the one doing it, he didn't want to give him time to hide the evidence. He slammed his way into the apartment, leaving the front door wide open, and squeaked around the kitchen door. His eyes almost fell out of his head as he saw Yamato straightening up, a tray of very familiar looking and smelling cookies in his hand. 

The blonde looked up as he heard someone come in, and then squeaked when he saw who it was, the cookies spilling everywhere. Taichi lunged forward at once, ignoring the pain as they burned his fingers when he tried to catch them.

"Taichi, what happened to you?" Yamato blurted out in shock. "You look like someone kicked your ass!"

Taichi looked down, embarrassed, as he sucked on one of his suddenly burnt fingers. "I did." He muttered.

Yamato blinked, then growled fiercely. "Who? How? When???"

"Koga." Taichi told him. "I stopped him from lying about you." He blushed in embarrassment. "And then he stopped me." Yamato hustled over and started to fuss over him. Taichi enjoyed it for a moment, then pulled back and stared at him. "You lied to me. You told me you didn't know."

Yamato ducked his head. "Yeah. I was gonna tell you. I didn't mean to lie, but I kept chickening out whenever I told myself I was going to tell you. Then Koga kept hanging all over me..." He fidgeted. "This time I really _was_ going to tell you." He pulled a note from his pocket and handed it over to Taichi.

The brunette took his finger out of his mouth where he'd put it trying to cool it and reached for the note. It was definitely in the same handwriting, and _now_ when it was right in front of him, he realized he'd seen it on those few homework papers of Yamato's he'd seen.

_I'm sorry I haven't said anything when I could have. I know some of the things I said probably freaked you out, they were so over the top. But I do mean them. And I do love you. Your secret admirer is me. Ishida Yamato. I love you, Taichi._

Taichi's hands trembled a bit, rereading it over and over, then looked up into those rich blue eyes looking back at him.

"Kiss, you idiots!" Daisuke muttered from where he and Ken were watching eagerly from the door. "Kiss and be a couple! You're in love!"

"Shh!" Ken elbowed him. "They're not supposed to know we're here!"

"I wanna see 'em kiss!" Daisuke pouted. He liked seeing his friends in love. It made him happy.

Ken looked over at his boyfriend. "Will you shut up if I kiss you?" Daisuke nodded, and Ken at once attended to that.

Taichi chewed his lower lip, staring at Yamato, then at the letter, then back to Yamato. "Why all the secrecy?" He asked finally. "Why cheat on your boyfriend?"

"Because I never loved him." Yamato told him bluntly. "Not like I do you."

Taichi looked surprised. This wasn't what he was expecting. "Then why..."

"Did I date him?" Yamato finished the question, and Taichi nodded. "I thought I cared...more than I did. I was wrong. Besides, remember those 'win a date with one of the Teenage Wolves' contests our manager started last year? He won one of those. That was our first date." Yamato shrugged. "It didn't go that badly, but he kept wanting more, and I didn't have the heart then to turn him down."

Taichi smiled a bit, then blushed faintly. "And when did you..." He wished he could finish one of his questions, but Yamato seemed to know what he meant.

"About a week before Christmas." Yamato told him. He did wish he'd had the nerve to bring it up in person and back then, but it was done with now.

"Why me?" Taichi murmured. He'd never lacked for companionship if he'd really wanted it, but there was no one that he'd ever thought of seriously for a date or more, until this whole secret admirer thing got started. _Guess I know why I kept imaging him with blonde hair, though._

Yamato shrugged casually. "Why not?"

"I mean...you didn't before..."

"I do now."

Taichi gulped. "Oh." He stared at Yamato, gripping the letter even more tightly as he did. It made so much sense in retrospect. Yamato _had_ said none of the others had said anything to him about it. And they hadn't.

"What do you think?" Yamato asked quietly, trembling just a little. Taichi looked up at him.

"I...I wasn't expecting it to be you." He stammered just a trifle. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner."

"Do you...mind?"

Taichi slowly shook his head. "I'm surprised but...Ken figured it out before I did. It only took him thirty seconds." He looked at Yamato. "I don't mind."

Yamato steeled himself. "Taichi...would you like to go out on a date...with me?" Taichi nodded slowly, and then was awed as one of the brightest and most amazing smiles he'd ever seen broke all over Yamato's face.

_I did that? He's doing that because of **me**? Wow._ He looked around, wanting to be away from those awe-inspiring eyes for a heartbeat, and motioned at the mess of cookies and cookie crumbs they were in. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Yamato told him. "I've made messes before."

"Want help cleaning it up?" Taichi offered. Yamato nodded quickly and the two of them got to work.

In the doorway, Ken finally pulled away from Daisuke, quite breathless. "Better?" he asked, and was rewarded with a purr that sounded completely mindless and quite thoroughly kissed. Ken grinned smugly, then tugged Daisuke away after a look at Yamato and Taichi cleaning together. _Our work is done._ He tugged Daisuke away, intent on doing a lot more kissing.

Behind them, Yamato took a chance and stole a kiss of his own from Taichi. The brunette stared at him, startled, then touched his lips softly and smiled. Once they had all the cookies cleaned up, he looked at the pile of unedible things wistfully.

Yamato shook his head, then grinned. "I'll make some more. And this time, you can watch."

Taichi's eyes lit up with joy at the thought. "I'd like that, Yamato. I'd like that a lot."

**The End**


End file.
